Airplane



B. H. MULL.

AIRPLANE.,

APPLICATION FILED APR.5, 1918.

m. ,1,5 9 3. F fb .im 5 mm Mw WK N m4 v` no M M im AIR'PLANE.

APPLICATION FILED` APR.5. |918,-

' Patented Apr. 6, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

l... HUIIIIILHIIIIIIIHH 4 ,BENJAMIN HQ Mum., or CLEVELAND; oHIo.

.3, AI-MLANE.

To all may concern v Be it known that I, BENJAMIN H. MULL,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the'county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new andA useful Improvementin Airplanes, of-

which the followin is a full, clear, and exact description, re erence beinghad to the accompanying drawings. v

This invention'relates to airplanes having Sp'ecilcation'of Letters Patent'. 4 v f;

r atented Apr. 6, 1920.

Application fued April 5, I1913. l serial` No. 22eme. v

bars 22 andY tension membersl24are secured to the outer ends of the 4plane and to the frame members 7 .Y Below the frames 1 and 7 are suitable downwardly extending bear.- ing supoprts25- and 26.' supporting respec- I tively aforward wheel 27 and two separated for fits general object thefprovision of sims ple andeliicient construction thereof. Ihemore particular object of this inventionis to provide, in addition to the usual propelling means,` `a rneansl adapted` to exert a 'strong upward pull to assist in rising quickly from theground and in sustainingthe ma- -chine in the air, and to render alighting less dangerous. The method of accomplishing these objects vwill become apparent in the follow-ing descriptiomrelating to the draw- ,.in'gs, andthe essential characteristics are summarized? in the claims.

-' Referring to the drawings', Figure 1 is a side elevation of my airplane; Fig. 2 is a plan of the same; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the airplane; Fig. 4 is an enlarged sec-f tional detail in plan showing the fan be` lneath the opening in the wing; Fig. '5f-is a ltransverse section Vthrough a portion of the plane adjacent to the opening, illustrating vthe` fans beneath the same; Fig. 6. is an envlargeddetail of the 'central portion of the 4 10 forming parallel A-framesl supporting a fan members showing the connection. with rear wheels 28.. y

A suitable'motor, the'- frame. or casing'of which is indicated at 30, may be mounted in the main. frame, forward of lan operatos box-like vcarriage 3 2' having a suitable seat 33 at the rear 'portion thereof. The usual propeller indicated atl Smay be driveiffrom the motor byfsuitable mechanism shown as comprising an engine shaft 36 extending .rearwardly through a bearing 37 in a substantially spherical frame housing 40. -On the inner. end of the shaft 36 is a bevel gear 3.8" meshing witha similar bevel gear 39v on avertical shaft42 having a bearing iat 43. on the lower portion of the housing 40. The

gear 39 also meshes .withgthe bevel gear 44, L whose axis isparallel with the shaft 36, and

mounted on `the shaft 45 extending through a bearing 46 in the housing and rearwardly `th-rough the' bearing member 4 and carrying the driving device for rotating the fans in f opposite directions, and illustrating the the engine shaft verse frame comprises a transverse member 6, longitudinal members 7 and a cross member 8, connected with rearwardly extending members .9 meeting corresponding' members horizontal rudder shaft 12. Rising from the frame members 6 and 7 are upright struts 141and 15 secured to an arcuate-plane 20 substantially parallel with the forward and a-ft dimension of the frame and lcurved downwardly at each side thereof. The main plane is additionally supported' by brace the propeller '35.

Thealtitude and direction of the yplane may be controlled in .substantially the usual inanneriby rudders 50, carried on a sleeve 51 rotatably embracing the shaft 12, and

standing normally .in horizontal position lfrom which they may-.be 'tipped as desired by operation of a suitable .pedal 52 on a shaftv?) extending transversely of the opervators box adjacent the seat thereof. 0n

` each end of this shaft 53 isa lever 54,. the.

. opposite ends of which are 4connected to a 95 liexible'member 47 extending'overa sheave 55v mounted on the member 9 of the A-frame adjacent to vertical bracing struts 56. rlhis sheave is rigid lwith a rock shaft 57Y having .an offset crank arm 58'e'ngaging the under side of the rudder plane 50 and operating in a suitable slotformed by the use of a strap 59 `secured' to the'underside of the rudderv '.planes. As the pedal 52 is rocked, the sheave and rock shaft are rotated, through thelconnections described, raising or lowering the forward endof the rudder planes as desired.

Pivoted at the central portion of the rudder shaft betweenthe planes 50 is asubstantially vertical 4rudder plane Orotating about the pivot .61, and4v connected with a flexible' mem-Y ber 6 3 guided over lsuitable pulleys as shown to a shfeave 65 at the lower end of suitable `umn 66 and the sheave beingin'the naturevtended to Aoperate in substantially the usual steering column 66 carrying asteering wheel 68, the connectionsbetween the steering colof a universal point indicated at 69.

The airplane, as so far described, 1s 1nand well known manner, but the essential feature of this invention is the provision of mechanism for producing a vacuum at the upper side of a plate carried by the f1-amen and at the same time forcing air outwardly beneath the downwardly curved ends of the s plane 205 thereby producing a supporting upward component. The mechanism for ac.-

` on struts 75 extending upwardly from the main frame vmembers to' the plate.

This plate is additionally braced to securely -hold it in horizontal position at right angles to the'taXis of the fan shafts by. braces 76 eX- tending fromthe rear portion of the plate a short distance beneath theplane 2O vthrough which is made a large circular opening` 77. Directly above the plate on the hollow shaft 71 is rigidly mounted a fan member comprising laterally extending somewhat curved blades 7 8 preferably made of one integral piece having an enlarged portion at the hub secured 'by bolts 79 eX- tending through flanges 80 of a metallic hub member keyed to 'the-shaft 7l. The .sur-

faces of the'blades- 78 are. preferably vel"- tical at all points. A similar pair of blades 82. are mounted, on a metallic hubl member I 83 'rigidly keyed to the'uppei` portion of the shafwtj42 andl secured by suitable nuts 84. Shortnon-friction sleeves 81 may be used between the concentric shaft 42 andthe sleeve shaft 7l at the upper and lower ends of the latter shaft. v

'Itwill be seen that rotation of the shaft 36 will drive both the gears 39 and 70 and the gear 44, the latter revolving the propeller 35 while thegears 39 and 70' rotate in opposite directions revolving the blades 78 and 82,' respectively, in opposite directions. As these blades are rotating in the direction of the arrows shown in Fig. 2 at' y a very high rate of speed airis thrown out- Wardly "forci'b-ly over the plate 74 and against the downwardly curved portions of the wing 20. A very pronounced'vacuum is thus produced by these Eblades creating a strong upward pressure of air on the under side of the plate 74, at the same time the air thrown outwardly by the fan is replaced by air passing through bpeningw in the plane. It is believed that the production of this vacuum and the forcing of the air outwardly against the downwardly. curved porA tions of the planes' in thismanner may proopposite directions, is to eliminate the tend-A ency of the resistance to rotate 'the entire airplane, although it is to be understoodl that these oppositely rotated blades may be placed at different points beneath openings' in the plane 2O or only -one of them may be used in the position shown, providing other y means isused to overcome the tendency of the plane t0 spin about the axis of the ro tation of the fan.

ff(- Having thus described my invention what claim is i tothe struts 75. This plate 74 is mounted 1. The combination in an airplane, of a main frame and motor carried thereby, a supporting plane substantially parallel with relation to the direction of travel and having an opening, a fan driven by the motor and rotatable on a substantially vertical axis, the blades of the fan being also substantially vertical, and a plate below the fan for preventing airapproaching the fan from below.

2. In an airplane, the combination with a frame and a supporting plane having .a l downwardly curved surface andan opening through the plane, said plane being substantially parallel with the directionl of travel, a fan revolving beneath the opening adapted to force air against said curved surface, and means preventing' airL being drawn upwardly to the fan.

3. In an airplane, the combination with a frame and-motor, of a supporting plane, ay fan substantially. parallel with said plane l and beneath the same and adapted to force said fan and having all parts of its surface vioo` parallel with the direction of tra-vel of the plane as moved by the propeller', said opening beinlg arranged to' allow air to flow therethrough tothe fan, and means preventing air approaching-the fan from beneath. l. y y

5. The combination in an airplane, of a, frame,v a supporting plane having an open-4 mg, a. motor and av propeller, a plurality of n Y fans beneathl the ksupporting plane opposite the op'eninga-nd' rotatable' in Aboth directions on an upright axis, concentric sha'ft members for szud'fans, a bevel gear on each'o by the motor meshing with eacl1-of said bevel gears thereby driving them in f-erpposite directons, und a1 fourth bevel gear meshing with each of the fzln gea-rs md arranged to drive the propeller..

signature.v

BENJAMiN H. MULL.

saidshaft 'members and e bevel gear driven In testimony whereof, I hereunto aliX my 20 

